3 Palo Alto teens arrested for allegedly trying to burglarize home

Palo Alto police have arrested three teenagers in connection with an attempted residential burglary earlier this week.

At about 7:50 p.m. on Sunday, officers received a call from a resident in the 1200 block of Lincoln Avenue reporting suspicious circumstances, according to the Police Department.

The caller reported seeing two males hiding in the front yard of a neighbor's home. Responding officers checked the residence and found no one there, and that there were no signs of forced entry.

Surveillance footage was provided by the caller, which showed two male suspects in the front yard of the neighbor's home, behind a front gate, police said.

Officers checked the neighborhood for the two suspects, and found them at about 8:15 p.m. in the 1200 block of Hamilton Avenue. The suspects were detained by police.

A short time later, the homeowner of the residence where the suspects had been spotted returned home and provided additional surveillance video at that house.

The video showed three suspects had actually been at the residence, and the third suspect, who at the time remained unidentified, had hopped over a gate on the property of the sidewalk and let the other two suspects inside.

The video also showed that the third suspect was in possession of a crowbar, according to police.

One of the suspects, later identified as 18-year-old Rigoberto Lopez-Lugos of East Palo Alto, was then seen walking toward the front of the home, police said.

At that time, the other two suspects returned to the sidewalk, possibly to act as lookouts, according to police. All three suspects left once they noticed the neighbor had seen them.

Lopez-Lugos was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of attempted residential burglary and conspiracy, both felonies.

Police arrested the second suspect, a 15-year-old Sunnyvale boy, on suspicion of the same charges and released him to the custody of a parent.

Through a follow-up investigation, officers identified the third suspect as a 17-year-old Sunnyvale boy, and on Monday, police arrested him on the same charges as the other two suspects, as well as a misdemeanor charge of possession of a burglary tool. The 17-year-old boy was also released to the custody of a parent.

Detectives are investigating whether the three suspects may be linked to any other residential burglaries in Palo Alto.

Anyone with information about this incident or the suspects is asked to contact the Palo Alto Police Department's 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloaltotipnow.org or sent via text message or voicemail to (650) 383-8984.